photo by Kevin
From the office of Councilmember Zachary Parker, Ward 5:
“The past few days have been spent in conversation with the developer to address community concerns.
Councilmember Parker takes neighbors’ concerns seriously and is committed to holding Jair Lynch accountable for delivering on community benefits in this vital development. We are especially committed to advocating for neighbors to ensure the development includes a grocer and senior affordable housing, as well as robust retail options and other amenities. For what it is worth, we have found Jair Lynch to be a responsive and fair partner.
Based on the developer’s conversations with our office and the community over the last few days, they are formally submitting an updated PUD modification filing to the Zoning Commission. This revision removes all requested flexibility to convert retail to residential from the application in Parcels 2 and 4, including requested flexibility in the grocer space. While the developer maintains that the flexibility would have provided more long-term certainty given that retail markets are presently unpredictable, they have chosen to remove it based on conversations with our office and neighbors’ concerns and because they have a signed lease with a grocer and are committed to moving forward.
From Jair Lynch: “Should this grocer lease terminate, we are prepared to re-engage with the Zoning Commission and the community to adjust the plan accordingly. Please note, if ‘the back-up scenario’ is necessary, re-engaging with the relevant parties will likely take 12-18 months to reset the project.”
Here are some quick updates on the details:
· Parcel 2 originally (from the 2014 PUD filing) had a minimum of 18,000 sq ft of retail and Jair Lynch is now proposing 15,000 to 17,000 sq. ft. for Parcel 2.
· Parcel 4 originally (from the 2014 PUD filing) had a minimum of 59,000 sq ft retail, all of which was designated for a grocer. Jair Lynch is now proposing 43,500-59,000 sq. ft of retail, including a 22,500 sq ft grocer that is under lease.
o If everything moves ahead as planned, the grocery store should open in Spring 2028.
o Demand for the space is limited. Jair Lynch represents that they had discussions with 13 grocers; nine didn’t operate in urban areas, 2 had stores nearby; they leased with one of the remaining two.
Councilmember Parker supports the project’s goals of delivering market rate and affordable housing as well as a grocer to Bloomingdale and Stronghold. To ensure the timely delivery and financial viability of the project, Councilmember Parker recently introduced tax abatement legislation. Our team worked with the Committee on Business and Economic Development to include this legislation in the Council’s FY26 budget, which receives a second vote on Monday, July 28.
If you have any additional questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We will continue to be in touch with community leaders and neighbors to provide updates and address concerns.”